The Sporting Jax men’s team defeated Lexington SC 3-2 on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Hodges Stadium.
Jacksonville got on the board first in the 19th minute of the match when defender Edgardo Rito intercepted a Lexington pass and fired a shot at the net. Rito’s ball did not go in; however, midfielder Jean Mota was able to corral the rebound, passing it to Kieran Sadlier, who found the back of the net to give his squad an early lead.
This marks Sadlier’s 10th goal of the season, the seventh most in the USL Championship. It is also the second week in a row he has scored following a goal last week against Brooklyn FC.
Lexington came out strong in the second half, scoring two goals to make the score 2-1.
Despite being behind late in the game, Sporting Jax did not quit, and forward Emil Jääskeläinen provided the spark that the squad needed when he tied the game in the 88th minute.
“It gave us the momentum then to get the winner,” Jääskeläinen said. “I thought we dug deep; we’ve dug deep a few times this season and it paid off in the end.”
Jacksonville’s winning goal came during stoppage time when Jääskeläinen and forward Adam Luckhurst worked the ball up the pitch. Luckhurst sent a cross into the box, and Ahmad Al-Qaq hit a header into the net in the 94th minute.
“The last 10 minutes of that game were hectic,” Al-Qaq said. “I think it shows our mental
resilience, though, which is a really good building block to build on. Excited to get the goal.”
This is Jacksonville’s third win of the season, and Head Coach Liam Fox said he is proud of the mental and physical toughness his players have shown.
“The character the players showed, to come out on top and the way that we did it, the last kick of the game, it was a real team effort tonight,” he said.
Fox would like to carry the momentum from Saturday’s win into the closing months of the season.
“That’s the next challenge for us because we consistently want to be a team that wins, but we have to make sure that every week we are committed to that, and make sure we train properly, and also make sure that we perform in the 90 minutes under pressure,” Fox said.
The men’s team will return to Hodges Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, to take on Rhode Island FC at 7 p.m.
